Paid in Full
by Ridley C. James
Summary: A tag for the episode: Compass. When Matty secretly pairs Mac with what she sees as a more compatible partner while Jack is out of town, things do not go as planned. Mac is hurt during Matty's experimental trial run and Jack is all too willing to explain why he is the one and only person who should be watching Mac's back.
1. Chapter 1

Paid in Full

By: Ridley

A/N: So as the second season quickly approaches (yay!) I kept thinking about first season episodes that I _really_ wanted to add missing scenes to or add a tag. Okay, that's most of them because as you know there is never enough bromance for a fan fic-loving heart, but one episode stood out-Compass. A few have addressed this episode so forgive the redundancy but I just wanted to see Jack's reaction to Matty's suggestion Mac might need a new partner, (part of this could be due to my paranoia Mac will get a new partner in light of the new female character they have added) but of course it expanded a little from there. Let me know what you think! Nurse Sally belongs to the lovely poxelda and Mike Briar is all Gib's creation.

RcJ

"We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love."-Sigmund Freud

"Hold your horses," Jack Dalton called as he worked his way from the back of his house where he'd just managed a shower and a semi-shave with one working arm. He'd forgotten what a pain everyday tasks were made with a cast. Jack wasn't sure who the impatient person pounding on his door might be because Mac had a damn key and no one else he knew was up at the butt crack of dawn on a Sunday morning, but he had a sudden vision of using the heavy plaster on his arm for something useful like a handy tool for an impromptu bludgeoning. Mac would be proud of his partner's improvising.

Jack attempted to put his one good arm through his clean shirt as he walked, nearly tripping over his go bag, which he'd dropped in the hallway when he'd finally made it back from the airport at around midnight. He cursed as he stumbled on into the entranceway. At this rate his nosy neighbor, Henrietta would be calling the police or worse coming over to investigate herself, then he'd never get rid of her.

"I'm coming, damn it!" Jack yelled, finally wrangling himself fully into the shirt just in case it _was_ Henrietta bringing over something she or one of her fellow thoughtful squad of neighborhood blue-hairs had baked. He already suspected the women watched him from Henrietta's patio as they sipped on their morning Mimosas and worried about the integrity of his neighbor's deck when Mac was over, especially if he'd wrangled the younger man into helping work on his car or doing some mundane task in the yard which might have prompted either of them to be shirtless. Jack didn't want to encourage Henrietta's spying or give the old gal a coronary by answering the door half naked.

"What?" Jack demanded, flinging the door open.

"Well good morning to you to you, too, Sunshine," Riley Davis greeted stepping past Jack without waiting for an invitation to come in.

"Damn it, Riley," Jack grumbled. "You know where I have my spare key."

"And take a chance on walking in on a scene like I once had burned on my retinas when I was ten and came home from school early." Riley made a gagging noise, moving further into the house. "I am still emotionally scarred from seeing more of you than I ever wanted to."

Jack shook his head at the girl's exaggeration, not in the mood for her poking at him or for her buddy Bozer, who was still standing in the doorway with an amused grin plastered on his face. The damn fool also knew where the key was so he could have at least come in and given the all clear sign instead of waking the whole neighborhood. Jack might have been adored by the older ladies' brigade but some of the residents of his quiet cul-de-sac didn't embrace him as enthusiastically. Have SWAT and the bomb squad show up on your lawn a couple of times and people tended to judge.

"Don't go giving me that look," Bozer said as he too slid past Jack without apology. "I whole-heartedly embrace the 'family doesn't knock' motto at mine and Mac's place, but I know all too well how many guns you have hidden around here, including the one strapped behind the toilet. Besides, I brought bagels," Bozer added shaking a bag from Jack's favorite bakery. He was also holding a drink tray with what looked like coffee and quite possibly Jack's preferred chai latte. "Welcome home."

Jack closed the door with a sigh, resigned to the fact his quiet morning was pretty much over. He followed his teammates into his kitchen where Riley already sat on one of the barstools holding Einstein, Jack's part-time roommate, half-feral cat. Apparently all the ruckus had even lured the king from his throne which was better known as Jack's bed. Jack had made the mistake of feeding the moocher when he'd shown up as a half-starved kitten almost three years before. Unable to break his habit of taking in strays, he'd tried to convince Nikki to take the adorable ball of fluff home with her. It should have been a clear warning sign that the woman was heartless when she had not even hesitated before declining and suggesting Jack call animal control. Mac had also refused but only because Bozer was supposedly allergic. He did however take great pleasure in naming the furry beast with the wild silver mane and adding the elaborate cat door to Jack's house that he promised his partner would not allow random animals entrance. Jack was still waiting to come home and find a family of raccoons living in his pantry.

Bozer took the other stool, rolling his eyes when Einstein instantly abandoned Riley, sauntering the length of the bar to rub against his black jacket, as if the cat innately sensed and was quite pleased by the fact fastidious Bozer not only hated cat fur on his clothes but would also need a heavy dose of Benadryl after the unwanted encounter.

"So what do I owe this-and don't take this the wrong way because I love you both-unexpected and unwanted visit." Jack snagged the Chai with his good hand, leaning against the stove to stare at his two suspicious teammates. It wasn't like Riley and Bozer dropped by often. Mac's place was usually their chosen gathering place for all things off the clock. Mac was Jack's only regular company, sometimes crashing in the spare room, especially pre-Bozer's adoption onto the team when Mac didn't want to explain an injury. Jack took a drink, waiting for an explanation.

"And you said he wouldn't be happy to see us," Bozer picked Einstein up off his lap and deposited him back with Riley.

"It's not that I'm exactly unhappy by your visit, but I thought I wouldn't see you until our Monday morning meeting tomorrow-emphasis on tomorrow-at Phoenix."

"You didn't miss us while you were in Austin?" Riley asked sweetly and Jack's spidey sense started to tingle. "How's Nana Beth? Did she send me anything?"

"Is that why you two are here?" Jack frowned, taking another small sip of his drink this time to avoid taking more hide off his tongue. "To get your loot from Beth?"

"So she did send us something? I knew it. That woman loves me." Bozer rubbed his hands together. "Pineapple upside down cake? A jar of her pesto?"

"Where's Mac?" Jack was done with the obvious forced chit chat. His partner's absence in light of the strange visit and weird behavior from his friends revving up his worry. He had gotten texts from Mac during the his two day trek to Texas. It had been a short trip, one Jack had planned on the spur after Matty had insisted their team step out of rotation after the whole Boston fiasco. Jack tried not to look at the mandatory time off as a reprimand for him taking a Phoenix jet without going through the proper channels or missing mandatory therapy for his arm, but more as a reward for putting away a murderer and helping Mac's friend, Frankie, get her life back-literally considering the whole visit had been prompted by her premature funeral. He and Mac had also had a successful albeit short mission in Paris, and Jack was convinced he'd made up for any infractions by his brilliant performance to infiltrate the French embassy. But now, something nagged at him, that little overly pessimistic voice in his head taunting that maybe Jack had missed something important.

"He's at Phoenix," Riley answered vaguely.

"Is he still in the lab working on that damn robot?" Jack shook his head. He'd tried to get his partner to come to Texas with him, knowing that not only would Beth and JP be ecstatic to see the kid, but that the time away would do Mac some good. They might have found Frankie alive and well, but something had clearly been bothering Mac during their time in Paris. As usual, his best friend had neatly compartmentalized whatever bad memory Frankie's exaggerated demise had unearthed, throwing himself headlong into the mission, but Jack knew Mac well enough to know when the kid was off. The nightmares during their flight home had been a clear sign, but Mac had begged off from the trip to the ranch after their debriefing, claiming Matty had asked him to actually do his science thing while they were on stand down.

"Not exactly," Bozer hedged, shooting Riley what Jack recognized as his 'what should I say' look, the one he'd adopted after several instances of his running off at the mouth had gotten the whole team in hot water.

"Okay, you two," Jack put down his drink, straightening to his full height. "What the hell is going on?"

"Mac's in medical," Riley finally answered.

"He's okay," Bozer was quick to add, when Jack took a step away from the stove, his body prepping for action, reacting to the news without thought. "So no need to be pulling out all the hidden weapons to launch an assault or anything. I mean it'd be crazy to kill someone over a concussion and some broken ribs."

"Concussion? Broken ribs?" Jack growled. He'd been thinking that maybe Mac had overworked himself over the weekend, gotten dehydrated, forgotten to eat or sleep. At the worst, Jack envisioned the robot had gone all Terminator and had maybe gotten in a few punches before Jack's tactical team had engaged the contingency plan Jack had put in place after Mac insisted good'ol 'Sparky' was harmless and refused to dismantle him. Codename _Schwarzenegger's Smack Down_ would have had Jack's men easily dispatching of the diabolical database before it could seriously do harm to its creator.

"It's a mild concussion," Riley added, shooting Bozer a glower. "And his ribs are mostly bruised."

"But he's going to be okay?" Jack focused on Bozer, figuring his friend's tendency for drama would give him a more accurate picture than the one Riley might offer as it was painfully clear now that she was trying to keep the situation-the _situation_ being Jack's temper-from escalating.

"He was good enough to want to leave, arguing with Sally over the IV she insisted he needed." Bozer offered a half grin. "He's actually the one who made us promise to come get you. Not to let Matty call you on the phone."

Jack let out the breath he'd been holding. He rubbed at the back of his neck where knots of tension had already formed. "How the hell did he get hurt at the lab?"

"Well…" Bozer started.

Jack didn't wait for Bozer to gather his thoughts before moving out of the kitchen into the living room to search for his damn boots. Mild concussion or not, Jack wouldn't be content until he'd laid eyes on his partner. Bozer and Riley followed after him, exchanging more worried glances that did nothing to calm Jack's growing panic.

"It sort of happened on a mission," Riley finally finished for Bozer.

Their computer tech's words stopped Jack cold. He turned his gaze to Bozer, who had the wisdom to make sure the coffee table was between them.

"That's not possible," Jack looked to Riley, who put Einstein on the couch, only to have the cat dash for the cat door. Jack didn't miss the fact that Bozer looked as if he really wanted an escape hatch of his own.

"Don't go blowing a gasket, Jack." Riley propped her hip on the couch, working hard at adopting her calm, detached attitude in the face of Bozer's open-faced anxiety. Their showing up out of the blue was making sense now. They weren't just there to tell Jack about Mac being hurt, they were there to _handle_ Jack, a fact that only added anger to his already mounting fear. That particular emotional cocktail was never good for Jack, sort of like how him mixing Jose Cuervo and Jack Daniels usually ended up with someone getting punched. "Mac's stable and he's going to be fine."

Jack kept his gaze on Bozer, ignoring Riley for the moment. "Are you telling me that you all went on some kind of fucking mission without me? While I was in Texas?"

"Not _us_." Bozer was quick to deny, as if that would make Jack feel better. "We were at Phoenix the whole time."

"So you let Mac go on a mission by _himself_?" Jack ran his free hand over his damp hair, trying to keep himself from shaking the information he wanted out of Bozer. "What the hell, man?"

"We didn't," Bozer quickly defended, gesturing between him and Riley. "That was all Matty."

"Bozer!" Riley snapped, seeming to take offense to Bozer throwing their boss under the bus. "We talked about this in the car," she added under her breath.

"Talked about what?" Jack demanded, his anger ratcheting up right along with his worry as he started to fill in the pieces of the puzzle that painted one big picture of him being duped. "Did Mac really send you two over here, or was it Matty? How exactly were you supposed to spin the fact that my partner was sent on a mission alone and ended up being hurt because of it?"

"He wasn't alone, Jack." Riley sighed. "You know Matty better than that. She'd never send Mac alone without backup."

"I'm his back-up, Riley!" Jack yelled, throwing his hands in the air, wincing with the sudden movement to his injured arm. Maybe he didn't know Matty as well as he thought he did, because although she often got pissed at Jack he didn't see her doing something that would hurt any of her agents, especially Mac, just to punish what she saw as Jack's dereliction of duty.

"Where's your sling?" Riley rolled her eyes, pointing at the arm Jack had drawn protectively to his chest. "You need to be focusing on taking care of yourself."

"Is that what Matty said?" Jack asked, his mind staying with the fact that not only had he failed in protecting his partner, he'd somehow caused the whole ordeal by getting injured in the field. He was torn between going straight to Phoenix to see if Mac was okay for himself and getting some damn answers from Director Weber.

"Actually Matty said that Mac might need a new partner," Bozer supplied, quietly. "One that maybe understands his language better than you do."

"You did not just say that!" Riley shot Bozer and incredulous glare. "Did anyone ever explain to you why not to throw gasoline onto a fire?"

"She said what?" Jack was certain he had misheard. He took a step closer to Bozer, for once appreciative of the other man's tendency to be honest and straightforward at the most inopportune times. Only Bozer didn't look like he'd stuck his foot in his mouth nor did he seem one bit repentant that he'd obviously said the exact thing that Riley had probably told him not to say. He, in fact looked pissed. "When did this whole conversation take place?"

"After you broke your arm, just before Mac found out about Frankie," Bozer continued ignoring the slashing motion that Jack caught Riley making out of the corner of his eye. "Matty just tossed it out there when Mac was feeling guilty enough as it was after the rough time you had on the plane ride back home. You should have seen his face-like Matty had just delivered the kind of news Smitty was about to give him over the phone."

"Why would she do that?" Jack growled, his mind racing with other questions as well. The biggest being, why in the hell hadn't Mac told him about their boss's preposterous proposal. Suddenly his best friend's mood was starting to make sense.

"She heard Mac tell you to keep the damn bar perfectly normal and pointed out you didn't even know that _normal_ meant perpendicular, like the whole world should know physics. Hell, I didn't know what it meant and I took the class _with_ Mac. Mac tried to explain that he usually translated stuff into 'Jack' speak but Matty said that sometimes decisions had to be made that was in everybody's best interest."

"So she thinks splitting up me and Mac is in everyone's best interest?" Jack felt like someone had punched him in the throat. It hurt worse than having his arm snapped in that stinking garbage dump. He wasn't sure if the fact Matty was considering such a drastic measure caught him more off guard or the possibility that maybe Mac was on board seeing as how he hadn't breathed one word of their boss's directive.

"No," Riley was quick to jump in. "I think she was just trying to explore some options."

"Options that have left Mac looking like he's gone a few rounds with a half a dozen MMA fighters," Bozer fired back. Jack wasn't sure if he'd ever seen the younger man so worked up, at least not since the whole big reveal when Murdoc blew Mac's cover. Even then, Bozer's rare ire was tempered with a good amount of hurt. Now he was just angry, Jack realized, on his and Mac's behalf.

"I respect Matty and all, but if Mac is going to be playing _super spy_ I prefer it that he has _super soldier_ for his back up." Bozer jabbed a finger at Jack, before turning back to Riley. Jack got the distinct impression they were continuing a conversation they'd been dishing out previously. "I don't give a shit if Jack is smarter than a fifth grader, he always has Mac's back and I know he'd walk through hell to bring him home safe. I'm not sure Agent Sang would have crossed the damn street to ensure the same and in fact, he didn't bother to cross the street, Riley, which in fact is how Mac got the crap beat out of him. You can go all sniper on his ass if you like," Bozer returned his gaze to Jack. "I'll swear you were with me at the time of his death."

"Bozer, Mac told Sang to stay put. Besides there was a tank in the street, and militia armed with grenade launchers and flame throwers!" Riley defended.

"Like that would stop my boy Jack." Bozer harrumphed and although Jack appreciated his teammate's vote of confidence more than he could say, the in-fighting was not getting him the whole story or any closer to seeing Mac.

"Both of you shut up!" Jack's raised voice had his teammates looking his way. He picked up one of his boots, angrily jerking it on with his good hand, as he scanned the room for his keys. "Just walk me through the mission and how Mac ended up in medical. He texted me yesterday. In fact, I let him know my plane had landed last night and he sent a stupid gif. He seemed fine."

When they were both quiet, too quiet, Jack lifted his gaze to glance between them. Bozer glanced away and their handy dandy computer guru looked too damn guilty for her own good. "Shit, Riley, tell me you didn't."

When Riley remained quiet Jack felt bile rise to the back of his throat. He recalled the short and to the point conversations with his best friend, the fact Mac had suddenly taken to using a lot of memes and emojis. Jack had figured he was too busy in the lab to elaborate and the 'big foot' gif had cracked him up especially after the Harry and the Henderson's reference Jack had made when they were leaving Boston.

Jack clenched his fists, his heart picking up an even faster cadence. "Tell me you did not ghost MacGyver's phone and play text tag with me? Right?"

"Matty was afraid you'd get suspicious if you didn't hear from Mac and that you might do something stupid, like I don't know, steal a plane and interfere with the job which could have put you and Mac in danger, not to mention get you in trouble with Oversight." Riley folded her arms over her chest, attempting to appear completely justified in her actions but failing miserably. Jack could see the doubt in her dark gaze, the worry she'd crossed some line that she might not be able to step back across. "What was I supposed to say to her when she gave me an order?"

"Damn, Riley." Jack ran a hand over his mouth. He understood that Riley liked Matty, had maybe even begun to see her as a sort of mentor after Thornton's betrayal. Maybe there was a good healthy dose of fear as well over what Riley believed she had to lose if she disappointed Matty. Bozer might hate the idea of going back to mundane jobs like flipping burgers, but it sure as hell beat being sent to prison. Jack might have gotten where Riley was coming from, but it didn't keep the betrayal of his trust from stinging. "Did Mac know?"

"No." Riley quickly shook her head. "Matty asked me not to tell him. She knew he'd balk."

"And I reminded her how lies have worked out so well for us in the past." Bozer spouted off again. "One word-Murdoc."

"And I told you what you could do with your unsolicited advice. I believe it was two words. You want me to refresh your memory?"

"What was the mission?" Jack asked, stepping between the two, effectively cutting off the fresh argument he saw coming. He had been gone three days and his whole team was all to hell. Jack bent to shove his other boot on, picking up his keys he'd spotted under a dog-eared Guns and Ammo magazine. "And what went wrong?"

"What didn't go wrong?" Bozer huffed, as they made their way out the door. "Should I start with the faulty intel or the part where Mac went all dark, cancelled exfil and then blew up a building while he was still inside it?"

Jack took a breath, stealing himself for the rundown. "How about you just start at the beginning. That way I should be completely caught up by the time we make it to Phoenix."

To be continued...


	2. Chapter 2

Paid in Full

By: Ridley

A/N: Thanks so much for the amazing feedback on this little tag! I so hope this part lives up to your expectations! If nothing else it is twice as long as the first chapter.;-) Let me know what you think. One more chapter to go! Again Mike Briar belongs to Gib and Nurse Sally is the generous Poxelda's creation. Thanks to Mary, who once again took time from travelling the globe to make this a better piece.

RcJ

Jack by-passed the War Room when they arrived at Phoenix even though Riley informed him Matty wanted to talk to him ASAP, and warned him, also via Riley, not to go near Agent Sang. Jack had no beef with Sang, especially after Bozer filled in all the details of the mission on their drive. No matter what some of the higher ups seemed to believe, Jack did not expect every agent at Phoenix to willingly throw themselves in the line of fire for Mac.

For one, Angus MacGyver was more resourceful and better trained than ninety-nine percent of the operatives they worked with. Mac had served in the Army, trained with Jack's Delta unit, and he could more than take care of himself and those around him. Secondly, and most importantly, defending Mac at all costs was Jack's damn job. Yes, he was loyal to his country. Yes, he would protect any agent at Phoenix at the expense of his life if necessary, but Jack Dalton's primary goal would always be to keep Mac alive.

It was why he didn't give a damn that Matty had summoned him to her office, no doubt to have a reasonable chat with him before he laid eyes on Mac. She obviously thought he was going to lose his shit, which seemed to be Riley's concern as well, and possibly Bozer's gleeful hope. The funny thing was that three people who knew him so well didn't truly understand that when Jack was in full on Papa Bear mode-as his Delta Unit used to call his fierce protective streak-he wasn't some lose cannon, rapid firing willy-nilly. He didn't go off half-cocked like some new recruit who'd just been handed his first gun might. Jack was something else entirely. Steady. In control. Methodical and somewhat detached. Deadly, just like a shot from a sniper's rifle.

"About time you got here." Phoenix's head nurse somewhat affectionately called The Evil Elf by Mac, but better known as Sally to all her other satisfied patients greeted Jack cheerfully when he entered the ward, drawing him from his dark thoughts. "I was about to lose the bet on you being here within a two and a half hour range of Mac being admitted. Typically I would have shot for the thirty minute window which is usually a better pay out as some of the newer staff don't really know how to take you two, but seeing as how Bozer gave me some inside info on why you weren't dragging Mac in here yourself this morning, I knew that would be pushing it even for you."

"How much money are we talking, Sally?" Jack tried for a half smile, although his face felt a bit like stone as he did so. He was afraid he might accidentally bear his teeth at the woman, and he didn't want to piss off the person in charge of Mac's care. "And who was crazy enough to bet against you-or should I say _me_?"

"Dr. Carl, and your punctuality earned me a cool fifty, which I will be using to pay for my next mani/pedi extravaganza with the girls." Sally pulled one of the computerized charts which reminded Jack of something from Star Trek from behind her station and motioned for Jack to follow her. "The man is taking his title as my work husband to a whole new level losing bets left and right. He unwittingly bought my first pair of Christian Louboutin last year." Sally gestured to the hallway that would take them to the suite of private rooms used for short stay stints. Jack had no idea what a Christian Louboutin was but kind of felt bad for Dr. Carl since apparently he and Mac were costing him major cash.

"You'd think being here about as long as I have that he would have gotten a clue by now that you don't play when it comes to Mac. Speaking of…" Sally paused at the first door they came to. She gave Jack the kind of serious frown that had his heart jumping around a bit despite the fact he'd braced himself for whatever shape he would find his partner in. "Should I call the good doctor and prep a trauma team for Agent Sang?"

"That depends on what you're hiding in that medical chart computer gizmo." Jack held her serious gaze for a moment, realizing that apparently _everyone_ thought him bat shit crazy. He took some comfort in the fact that if he wasn't mistaken Sally looked almost as hopeful as Bozer had that Jack might indeed take his frustrations out on the operative who had been charged with taking his place and who had apparently failed miserably at the task. Unless Jack discovered Sang had willingly and negligently abandoned his post, he wasn't about to confront the guy, let alone send him to medical, but it made him feel better that he wasn't the only one that might have wanted someone to pay for Mac being hurt. "How's my boy doing? Really."

Sally folded her arms over the computer, not needing to consult it to fill Jack in on her patient's condition. "Most of the damage is superficial. Contusions, shallow lacerations and a couple of broken ribs. Basically they worked him over pretty good, but nothing he won't bounce back from in a few days, or a few _hours_ to hear your ever-optimistic partner tell it."

Jack snorted. "Let me guess, he wanted to go home right away?"

"You know it. His responses are so pat, I can't get anyone to take bets on how fast he'll try and scramble out of here anymore." Sally's smile faltered a bit, and Jack knew her well enough to recognize a tiny crack in her tough as nails, completely professional demeanor. Mac might have dubbed her the evil elf, and there were times when Jack had found himself on the bad side of her bed side manner and a giant hypodermic that he agreed with his partner's assessment, but he never doubted that Sally had a soft spot for the kid. "The worst of it I think Mac caused himself by detonating some kind of device which he didn't care to elaborate on when he escaped. Whatever it was it packed enough of a punch to ring his bell really good, he gave himself a mild concussion."

"Sounds about right." Jack had heard enough, most of which Bozer had surprisingly gotten right. It wasn't that Jack thought Bozer and Riley would lie to him about Mac's health, but more that they might not know the full extent of Mac's condition, especially if they had relied on Jack's partner to relay said condition to them himself. He gestured to the door. "Is he awake or did you manage to slip him something in the IV I'm sure you or the doc insisted on to keep him here for your mandatory few hours of evaluation?"

"I would never drug a patient without their knowledge, Agent Dalton," Sally denied by rote. Jack was certain she probably slipped it into the conversation at some point like she had been known to do during one of those advantageous times when he and Mac were distracted by arguing over who needed to stay put and be checked over and why that was going to happen, no matter what the injured party protested. "Mac was told about the sedative that we administered before his x-rays."

"Then I'll be dealing with a loopy, Mac." Jack forced another grin that threatened to crack his face, just grateful his partner wasn't unconscious from an injury. "That's always fun."

"Jack?" Sally's tone stopped Jack, just as he wrapped his fingers around the doorknob. The nurse touched his arm, careful of the cast. The uncharacteristic move drew his eyes to hers and he felt his knees weaken a bit. "There's something else."

"Well, damn, Sally just spit it out because you looking all doe-eyed and shit is about to require me to have one of your on the sly sedatives." Jack let go of the door, started to fold his arms over his chest out of habit, but was prevented from doing so by his injury, which had him once more recalling just why Mac was in medical in the first place.

"Mac asphyxiated a good deal of water." When Jack frowned, Sally rushed on to add. "The x-rays showed his lungs are mostly cleared, but I would like to recheck him in a few days and Dr. Carl wants him on a round of antibiotic that I hope you might _encourage_ him to take considering he said the water wasn't exactly of the sanitary…"

"Wait," Jack shook his head, holding up a hand. "Did I miss a part of the mission that included an impromptu swim?" It wasn't out of the realm of possibility. He and Mac had endued up in the water more times than Jack cared to recall.

"There were no natural bodies of water involved." Sally continued to hold Jack's gaze, her eyes filled with something Jack wasn't used to seeing from her-sympathy.

"Waterboarding?" Jack managed through a clenched jaw. He'd had his fair share of experience with water torture, going through the CIA in a time when enhanced interrogation techniques were still used in training recruits to resist such strategies in case they fell into enemy hands. That experience of course had been nothing compared to the real deal he'd suffered in the hands of his captors in Iraq. Jack wished he could say Mac had been spared the sensation, but in his worst nightmares Jack was treated to the contrary in vivid replay.

"Not in the traditional sense," Sally continued. "The finger shaped bruises on the back of Mac's neck and wrists suggest someone used force to possibly hold his head under water for extended periods of time."

"Okay." Jack's voice sounded devoid of emotion, matter of fact. Sally arched a brow at his reaction, or perhaps lack thereof. Even he recognized he'd reverted to some military default, understanding that a part of torture was the humiliation, the idea that you were at the mercy of another person. That your power had been stripped, right along with your dignity. It added insult to injury and Jack sure as hell wasn't going to add to what Mac had experienced by talking to anyone but him about it.

"He didn't want Bozer or the others to know, but said I could tell you." Sally's frown deepened as she continued to watch Jack, seemingly for some sort of more typical response. "Surely you know I've read both your files? I understand this isn't the first time either of you have experienced such treatment."

"I gathered." Jack understood Sally and several of the other medical staff had reviewed his and Mac's many write-ups including the more elaborate ones from the missions that still tore at Jack, the ones when he'd failed spectacularly at protecting his partner like Cairo and Buenos Aires. He held her gaze, knowing everything from his stiff stance to his schooled features spoke to how the ground between them had suddenly shifted. She was still the same chief nurse that Jack respected and even liked, but he'd reverted to Captain Dalton. "So you should understand that I know what to watch for. I'll be sure to inform you or the doctor if anything comes up that needs your attention."

"Am I to assume that means Agent MacGyver will be staying with you? Because before I write off on his psych assessment…"

"He doesn't need a damn psych evaluation!" It took every bit of resolve for Jack to keep his voice low, even managing to maintain a calm resonance. He couldn't, however, keep rage from flashing in his gaze, nor his face from flushing with anger. "As you pointed out it's not the first time either of us have had our heads shoved in a damn bucket of water while some asshole played twenty questions. Trust me when I say he can handle it." _And if he couldn't...well that was where Jack came in._

To her credit, Sally didn't blink. In fact, she'd managed her own steely,calm façade. "Its standard operating procedures to assess mental state and support systems in place after an agent has been interrogated with extreme measures, a fact, as you pointed out, that you are well aware of, Jack."

"Damn it to hell," Jack huffed, running a hand down his face. He took a deep breath and tried to force his hackles back to neutral as he softened his stance to regain some ground with the woman. "Do you really think I'm going to let him out of my sight after all this, Sally?"

"I'd probably bet my beloved Christian Louboutin shoes that Mac would have better luck growing sideburns and a full Manchu than he does shaking you anytime soon." Her mouth twitched. "But if I want to keep my job, I still need a verbal confirmation of the contingency plan to put in my medical chart computer gizmo as you are fond of calling it."

"Mac would probably be totally against me doing anything to help you maintain your employment because quite frankly he's living for the day you retire, but I can reassure you that he's in good hands and I'll make sure he has anything he might need." Jack gestured to the door once more. "Now if you're done delivering bad news I'd like to see my partner."

"Be my guest." Sally waved him on. "Why'll you're visiting, I'll just go procure that prescription for Mac and grab you another sling for your arm seeing as how you must have forgotten yours in your rush to get here."

"Evil elf," Jack muttered, watching the nurse sashay away as if she'd just fleeced him for some cash. He quietly opened the door and let himself inside Mac's room.

Phoenix's medical rooms weren't as sterile as your typical hospital décor. There were no institutional colors ranging from stark white to dull gray, but walls painted a soft blue or sea green instead. Actual art adorned the place, top rate replicas of Renaissance greats, as well as top of the line electronics and media including a massive flat screen with Boze speakers that Riley likened to a giant I-phone due to its multi-functionality, a one stop shop for viewing x-rays, scans, or the latest viral you tube video. What Jack appreciated the most were the chairs, sleek, mobile, and as nearly as comfortable as the worn-in recliners he claimed at both his house and Mac's.

It only took once glance to the hospital bed holding Jack's partner to remind the older agent that despite Phoneix's best efforts, a jazzed up hospital room was still a damn hospital room in the same way a wolf was still a wolf whether sporting a sheep's clothing or not. There was no way to Feng Shui a freaking heart monitor, IV pole, or any of the other myriad of medical machinery inhabiting the space.

Even in sleep Mac looked like he was in pain. It might have been the bruises that stood out vividly against Mac's pale pallor and the swollen eye, with the white bandage taped neatly above it that created the illusion that if not for Sally's sneakiness with the drugs that the kid would be writhing in pain, but Jack seemed to sense his best friend's misery at a deeper level. He could have easily blamed his paranoia on the nurse's revelation about the water torture and the subsequent unpleasant memories it provoked- images of Mac strapped to a wooden table, his head covered with a thin material as their tormentors poured water over the kid's face while Jack watched on, helpless to do a damn thing to stop it- but Jack trusted his gut, by-passing the ergonomic chairs, to claim a spot on the edge of Mac's bed instead.

"You look like hell, kiddo." Jack would have gripped the kid's hand, offering some kind of physical assurance that he was there, that Mac wasn't alone, but the dark bruising circling around Mac's wrists stopped him. He touched one of the swollen marks. Marks made by some bastard with big, meaty paws, with the kind of strength that could hold a guy of Mac's considerable size down. Jack's eyes went to his best friend's throat, where similar contusions could be seen on the side of his neck. He gently pressed his fingers just above the largest bruise, needing to feel the strong beat of Mac's pulse despite the fact the monitors made the move unnecessary. Jack had just allowed himself a breath of relief when Mac stirred, mumbling softly.

"Mac?" Jack rested a hand on the kid's forehead, avoiding the bandage.

Mac grew more restless, shifting beneath Jack's touch, fingers twisting the blanket in a desperate grip. "No. No. Craddock, don't!"

"Shit." At the name from their past Jack brought his hand to Mac's shoulder gripping it, hoping to spare his partner anymore of the obvious nightmare. "Mac!"

Mac didn't wake, his breath becoming labored, tossing his head against the pillow with his eyes screwed tightly shut. Jack's gaze went from his partner to the machines by his bed one of which was now displaying the patient's elevated heart rate. Maybe Sally's sedative wasn't such a good idea.

"Come on, brother." Jack used his casted arm to keep Mac's other hand on the bed so he wouldn't dislodge the IV, ignoring the pain that flared from the use. The move had him hovering over Mac so that when the kid's eyes finally opened he yelped in surprise trying to scramble away, nearly bucking Jack from the bed. "Mac! It's me. Jack. Take it easy."

"Jack." Mac repeated, unsure and breathless. There was still a good bit of wild eyed panic in his gaze as he tried to focus. He'd broken out in a cold sweat, errant strands of hair stuck to his forehead. "Jack?"

"It's me, bud." Jack loosened his hold, easing back out of Mac's personal space, intent on giving him room. His partner didn't let him move far, taking Jack by complete surprise when he practically sprang to sitting, grabbing hold of Jack in a hard hug.

"I thought…" Mac got out, his voice muffled, before choking on his next words. "Craddock…"

"Take it easy, kid." Jack returned the desperate embrace, grimacing at the name Mac had once again spoken. He silently cursed Matty for whatever wounds this disaster of a mission had reopened-old battle scars Jack had worked damn hard to erase completely, ghosts he believed long ago exorcised. He could feel Mac's heart as it pounded between them, as well as his fast, shallow breathing. Mac's fingers were twisted in the back of Jack's shirt and his partner was shaking, bleeding off adrenaline and stress, his usual defenses weakened by injuries and whatever Sally had given him. Jack was reminded of the weeks and months after Afghanistan when Mac had battled such night terrors that Jack slept in the same room to make sure he could wake him before they escalated.

"I'm here, brother. You're safe." Jack swallowed hard. It was a mantra Jack hadn't had to repeat in a long time making him feel all the more remiss in his duties. "We're fine. It's all good."

It wasn't long before Mac let him go, pushing away enough that he could meet Jack's gaze. Jack cringed at the haunted, far too traumatized look in Mac's glassy eyes. "I watched Craddock kill you."

"Like that bastard could take me out." Jack forced a half smirk, reaching up to run a hand over Mac's damp hair, frowning when Mac didn't duck the blatant big brother move but merely blinked dazedly as if he wasn't quite convinced Jack was indeed real. Jack gently gripped the back of Mac's neck, careful of the bruises as he pulled the kid a little closer once more. "Craddock was messing with you back then, Mac. Just more of his shit to try and break us. It's over. Has been for years and you know it. We both made it out of Cairo alive. It was just a dream, bud."

"A dream," Mac nodded, exhaling slowly. He rested his forehead against Jack's for just a second, closing his eyes for a beat before pulling away. Jack could practically see the defenses go up at warp speed as his best friend shoved whatever awful memories that had surfaced back into the mental lock box he kept for such occasions. Mac cleared his throat, bringing his arm without the IV to wrap protectively around his mid-section, hunching over a little. "Right."

"Excluding the nightmare, how you doing?" Jack glanced over to the monitor glad to see Mac's heart rate had slowed down. He was also breathing easier, which Jack imagined was much better for his abused lungs and ribs.

"I'm okay." Mac touched the bandage on his head, brushing the back of his hand over his forehead to shove his hair out of his face. He met Jack's gaze as if he knew what the other man was thinking. "Really. This all looks worse than it is, Jack."

"And the other stuff? Sally said you had a bad time of it this go around." Jack wasn't deterred so easily. The kid's defense mechanisms served him well, sometimes they were too good, allowing Mac to tightly close the lid on things that only needed a little light to vanquish. "That what conjured Craddock's ghost, because you know good and well I smashed that bastard's skull for what he put us through. Remember?" Mostly Jack had killed the sadistic psychopath for what he'd done to Mac, but that was semantics. Dead was dead. Jack watched a storm of emotions pass through Mac's blue gaze before the kid finally nodded looking a little steadier.

"I know Craddock's rotting in Cairo where we left him."

"Good." Jack nodded. "Then you want to talk about what happened that had him walking around in that ginormous brain of yours again?" Even as Jack asked, he knew the answer. Mac was shaking his head even before Jack could get out all the words.

"Not really." Mac met Jack's gaze, pain flashing across his face when he let loose with a nasty cough. He gave a shake of his head. "It was just the usual reminders."

"Only you would consider being held against your will and tortured run of the mill, brother." Jack huffed, not missing how his partner tightened his grip around his ribs.

"Says the guy who taught me everything I know about resisting interrogation." Mac said it lightly, but Jack couldn't help feeling a twinge of guilt, as if he'd somehow failed in imparting an important task or skill. "It was a walk in the park compared to some of the things we've been through," Mac added as if he wanted to reassure Jack, but the fact Mac was belittling his own suffering for Jack's sake only made Jack feel worse.

Jack knew any attempt at further conversation on the topic would be a waste of breath, but couldn't help but to at least try. He gave a half laugh, rubbing the back of his neck where his muscles were still a tangle of knots. "I'm not sure I should take comfort in that, brother. Especially considering who you were dreaming about."

Mac wasn't taking the bait. He forced a grin that did a piss poor job of covering the lines of weariness and pain on his face. "What is it with you and dying in dreams, man?"

"Maybe it's a subconscious thing?" Jack reached around his partner and hit the button on the hospital bed that would raise the top half, allowing Mac to rest against it. The kid seemed to be struggling to stay upright now that the adrenaline surge from his nightmare was wearing off. He looked too damn young with his hair all mussed and way too vulnerable for Jack's liking with the blackened eye and nasty gash held together with butterfly bandages across one cheek. "You're not secretly wanting to get rid of me are you? Possibly try out a new partner?" Jack said the last part in jest, but couldn't deny the echo of doubt that resonated through him, the twinge of insecurity.

"I don't want a new partner." There was no trace of humor in Mac's voice now as he eased himself against the mattress, still looking at Jack. In fact, it was said with a little heat. "I told you that in Boston, and I meant it. I want to work with you, only you. We're a team."

"Yet you went on a mission with fellow mathlete and chess club member, Agent Sang." Jack raised a brow, his earlier anger kept in check by the fact Mac was not only physically hurt but smarting in other ways despite the tough guy act he was maintaining. He was torn about hashing things out when Mac was all out of sorts, but he needed to clear up one detail before he talked with Matty and the discussion with Matty could not wait. If the kid had any doubts, Jack needed to know before he made a stand with their director.

"That wasn't my idea," Mac shook his head, pinching the bridge of his nose. "I swear, Jack. I would never do that."

"Then why the hell didn't you tell me what Matty was thinking, about her ideas on busting us up, Mac?" Jack ran a hand through his hair, let out a pent up growl of frustration. "I get that you were hurting over Frankie, but when we found her and were in Paris." He made a flailing hand gesture as words failed him. "Shit, dude. _Bozer_ had to tell me, only after dropping the bomb that you'd been injured on a damn mission no one had cared to mention to me."

"I…" Mac opened his mouth, then closed it before coughing once again, the wet sound of it making Jack feel even guiltier. "I was hoping Matty was maybe just thinking out loud, that she wouldn't do anything else with it, especially after she sent us to Paris. And I didn't want to tell you Matty's reasoning."

"What?" Jack laughed, torn between being touched his partner didn't want to hurt his feelings and feeling a bit indignant that Mac would think Jack would be offended by the remark when most of the people Jack knew were far below Mac's IQ level. "You didn't want to let me in on the fact she thinks I'm too dumb to be your partner?"

"That's not what she thinks," Mac denied, his face screwing up with his own frustration. He sat up straighter, his arm once more covered his ribs, making Jack want to punch someone. Instead, he clenched his one functioning fist until he felt the bite of nails against his skin. "You're not dumb, nowhere close to it."

"So pairing you with the Harvard graduate, Sang, with his doctoral degree in biochemistry wasn't a hint that she thinks you are severely, unequally yoked in this partnership?" Jack rubbed at his eyes, feeling the cadence of pounding pick up behind his forehead.

"I think unequally yoked is a term usually used to describe marriages, but…" Mac tried to redirect only to have Jack interrupt.

"A partnership is a whole lot like a marriage, brother." Jack shook his head, taking a deep breath to keep his emotions in check, hoping to ward off the monster of a headache that would not bode well for his meeting with Matty. "Hell, in our line of work, it's a lot more binding than something that can be dissolved by a team of lawyers and a damn court decree. I know there's that whole sickness and health and for better and worse clause, but we face life and death on a daily basis." He paused to search Mac's face, knowing that he'd let his feelings of hurt and betrayal bleed into his voice. "We've fought and bled together. Saved the freakin' world on more than one occasion. That's not the kind of bond a person decides to up and dissolve just because a guy's not up on his physics terminology."

"It goes beyond the last mission, Jack. I feel like Matty's not really understood _me_ -from the very beginning. How can she completely grasp how our partnership works?" Mac shifted on the bed, wincing with the movement. Jack wanted to help but a glare from his partner had him reconsidering. The younger man seemed to find a position that wasn't hurting his damaged ribs and sighed. "I figured if I let Matty have her way and she saw for herself that partnering me with someone new wouldn't work out the way she thought then she'd drop her case like she did about my improvising when she realized that how I work in the field for all intents and purposes works."

Jack managed to halfway fold his arms over his chest, ignoring the twinge his injured arm gave at the motion. "Tell me this whole ordering Sang to stand down and letting yourself get captured wasn't part of that brilliant plan, because not only is that stupid…."

"I didn't sabotage the mission, Jack." Mac rolled his eyes, clearing his throat. "I'm not an idiot. Sang was two steps behind on everything from the get go, proving there's more to perfecting a working relationship than merely pairing people based on their IQ. I think Matty was already realizing the error in her logic before I changed directives, which I did when the contact we were meeting ended up with a bullet in his head minutes before we reached him and the mysterious package he promised us was nowhere to be found."

"Bozer mentioned that things went south quickly after you made it to Mexico." Jack knew from Bozer and Riley's debrief on the way to Phoenix that Mac and Sang had been sent in to meet up with a former FBI agent who claimed he had a book-a book that held vital information on several agencies, including a possible list of agents across the board of the intelligence community who played for more than one team and the illegal endeavors they were a part of. A proverbial holy grail.

Mac sighed again, picking absently at the tape of the IV. "It did, but you know as well as I do that a tell-all list of traitors would be worth a huge risk to retrieve. Apparently we weren't the only ones to think so."

"I can see a piece of cheese that tempting bringing a whole bunch of hungry mice out of the woodwork." Jack and Mac had definitely pulled some crazy shit for less payoff. They'd both played the forfeited chess piece in the strategic game that intelligence gathering could be. Who got taken by the enemy often depended on whether more finesse was going to be required to free the other one, or whether more brute force and fire power was called for. Jack never liked it when it was the latter and Mac was the one who willingly let himself fall into the hands of whatever bad guy they were dealing with. He shook his head. "What I don't understand is why you didn't call the job a bust when the informant was taken out and there was no trace of the mysterious notebook? Why the hell did you cancel exfil?"

"Because I did manage to recover his phone." Jack carefully gripped Mac's wrist to stop him messing with the IV and to bring his partner's somewhat still bleary gaze back to him. "I went through the pictures," Mac continued, glassy eyes searching Jack's. "He'd taken a whole set at a local restaurant in the town, a group of men at a table having dinner. I recognized one of the men. It was Mike Briar."

"Briar?" Jack let go of Mac's wrist realizing he'd tightened his grip at the mention of the CIA agent when Mac drew in a sharp breath. Briar and Jack had history, and not the pleasant kind. Most recently the bastard had the balls to accuse Jack of stealing a whole shitload of money when Jack had been loaned out to pull a recon job for The Farm in which he'd destroyed a stock pile of weapons and taken out an entire militia. Instead of a thank you, Jack had been on the bad end of a witch hunt, which included a full inquisition by the higher-ups. It wasn't the first time Jack had been screwed over by Briar, and he sure as hell didn't appreciate having his integrity called into question, but the sonofabitch had crossed a line when after failing to rattle Jack, he'd blatantly threatened the rest of Jack's team. "Why the hell would this whistleblower have pictures of Briar?"

"That's the million dollar question." Mac brought a hand up to touch the bandage on his head, looking drained. "One I figured I might get answers to if I let the other guys who also wanted the book take me prisoner."

"And did you find out anything?" Jack raised a brow, not happy with Mac's self-sacrificing plan, but resigned that he'd probably have done the same damn thing if the situations had been reversed. "Or are the bruises and broken ribs basically all you managed to get for your trouble?"

"You're not going to like it." Mac rubbed a hand over his eyes.

Jack suppressed the urge to stand up and pace. "Then it will be on par for the course, brother. Because so far I haven't liked anything about this damn mission, especially the parts where I've been lied to and replaced. Don't even get me started on finding out my partner has been on the very bad end of an interrogation. Briar is just, how did you put it, the rotten cherry on a very shitty banana split kind of day."

"I might have slightly misjudged their fervor in discovering the book. They were convinced I knew where it was." If Jack wasn't mistaken his partner grew a bit paler, looking even smaller on the bed as he drew the cover up when he was wracked with a visible shiver. "Turns out they were willing to do pretty much anything to find it."

Jack rubbed his eyes, feeling every bit of the sleep he missed the night before. He tried to block unwanted images of the situation Mac had found himself in from his mind praying water torture was the worst thing that happened. "So at least we know from their enthusiastic measures used during your interview with them that the freaking thing is probably real, and could be just as damning as your contact promised. If Mike wanted, it's possible he's one of the entries."

"I thought the same thing." Mac nodded. "When they were questioning me, they kept calling it Patton's Notebook."

Jack frowned. "As in General George Patton?"

"Maybe." Mac shrugged, failing to stifle a wide yawn that had him wincing and touching the cut across his cheek as if he'd forgotten it was there. It made Jack want to reconsider his decision not to pummel Agent Sang. "Patton, along with other great thinkers like Darwin, and Thomas Jefferson, were known for keeping a pocket notebook, a journal that they recorded thoughts and daily happenings. Patton even sketched and wrote poetry I think, along with his philosophy on battle."

"Officers must be made to care for their men. That is the sole duty of all officers," Jack recited one of his favorite life quotes, smirking when Mac shot him a confused look. "That's some good advice from Patton himself, probably pulled from one of his girlie diaries. You think whoever created the book we're looking for code-named it after Patton?"

"I guess it would be appropriate, seeing as how it would have potential to make someone a powerhouse in any number of battle fronts."

"Did you recognize any of the men doing the asking during your session with the other interested parties?" From what Bozer had told Jack, it wouldn't matter if Mac could ID the guys because it was a good bet they'd been killed in the blast Mac managed during his escape.

"The ones who worked me over were obviously hired muscle. Russian maybe. They were big and seemed to like their work." When Mac met Jack's gaze there was dread in the blue depths and Jack got the distinct impression his partner was getting around to the part he had warned Jack that he wouldn't like. "The one who asked the questions and directed the two goons stayed in the shadows, out of my line of sight. But I recognized his voice. I'm almost a hundred percent sure it was Briar."

Jack clenched his jaw. "Tell me you took that bastard out with the building you blew."

"He didn't stick around long enough." Mac glanced at his hands again, Jack following his gaze to the vivid bruises around each wrist. "When I didn't talk he grew bored I guess. Took off, but not before telling his friends to finish me and to make it hurt."

"Sonofabitch," Jack growled, pushing off the bed to stalk across the room. The only thing Jack _did_ like about Mac's reveal was that it finally gave him a safe place to focus all his pent up wrath, a target that Jack didn't have to work with like Sang, nor one he considered a good friend such as Matty. He turned to start back towards Mac, no longer bothering to hide the murderous rage in his eyes. "I will fucking kill him! Forget the sniper's bullet I promised the sleazy bastard. I will do it slowly. Painfully. With my own bare hands. _After_ I water board his ass for a few hours, maybe add some electricity just for giggles."

"Now that sounds more like the enthusiastic-somewhat scary- agent I have come to know," Sally said from the doorway to Mac's room. Either she had engaged stealth mode upon entering or Jack had been so caught up in his tirade that he'd blocked out everything but his plans for revenge. "Am I interrupting something?" She looked from Mac to Jack and then back. "Should I come back?"

"No." Both Jack and Mac parroted the word, although their follow up statements were vastly different.

"You should not come back," Mac said, setting his face in a petulant glower.

"You're not interrupting," Jack replied, rolling his eyes at his partner's child-like reaction. He waved the nurse in. "You can have your way with the patient. I was just leaving."

"Where are you going?" Mac disregarded his scowl for Sally, who had busied herself checking her computer, to offer Jack a flash of panic, fighting to sit up straighter. "Give me a minute and I'll come with you."

"Dude, I'm just headed downstairs, not south of the border," Jack assured. He glanced at his watch. "Director Weber was expecting me thirty minutes ago. I got the feeling she intends for the meeting to be solo, which is probably for the best."

"Less witnesses that way," Jack heard Sally mutter under her breath, the woman still pretending to be reading.

"Jack…" Mac started and Jack could see the worry replace fear in Mac's blue gaze.

"Dude, we just have a few things to clear up," Jack cut him off. "Then I'll be back around to get you so we can head to my place for some downtime."

"I'm staying at your place?" Mac's brow furrowed in confusion. He pushed the blanket off him, making another attempt to shift his legs out of bed.

"You are if you want our favorite nurse to keep her job." Jack flashed Sally a grin when she finally looked up, winking at her for good measure before turning back to face his partner. "And if that isn't motivation enough for you, there is all the delicious loot Nana Beth sent home with me. I figure by you staying with me, we don't have to share with Riley and Bozer. Besides Einstein and Henrietta have missed you."

"Is there cherry pie?" Mac spared a thoughtful glance to Sally as if passing up an opportunity to rid Phoenix of her presence was an incredibly hard one to turn down.

"What do you think?" Jack smirked, unable to resist reaching up and ruffling his partner's already rumpled hair.

"I think you're an ass," Mac growled, knocking Jack's hand out of the way, quickly covering the wince the sudden movement brought.

"Did you talk that way to Agent Sang?" Jack forced a smug grin onto his face, feigning normalcy in light of an outsider's presence. "No wonder he wasn't willing to face a tank and flamethrowers to rescue you."

"Boys. That's enough." Sally pushed her way between the two partners with the expertise of a well-practiced mother whose patience for horseplay and sibling bickering had reached its threshold. She gave Jack a little shove back, slapping him with the sling she'd brought. "Don't forget this on your way out, Agent Dalton." She offered him a bag. "These too, considering _you know who_ is likely to conveniently forget them."

" _You know who_ is sitting right here," Mac groused, his eyes searching out Jack over Sally's head as she went right to work removing his IV. He'd made it to a fully sitting position glancing around the room for what Jack would wager were his boots. "Do not do anything stupid without me."

"That's my line, brother." Jack pointed a finger at him to stay put. "It's not me that has a tendency to go lone wolf. You know me better than that."

"I do know you, Jack. That's what worries me." Mac gave a quick yelp when Sally's ministrations apparently turned unusually rough, giving Jack a chance to slip out of the room without further notice or comments. He pulled the door closed behind him just as Mac accused the nurse of not only hiding his shoes but hurting him on purpose.

His partner's accusation had Jack's temper once more kicking into overdrive, anger sending a surge of adrenaline through his tired body in a way that had him clenching his fist again, and grinding his teeth as he made his way to the elevator. He'd never think Sally guilty of such an action, but his partner's words had effectively brought thoughts of Briar back to the forefront. Mike Briar who had indeed hurt Mac. Intentionally. Purposively. Deliberately.

Jack had no doubt the sonofabitch had enjoyed it, too, having excelled in the CIA's enhanced interrogation program when they were there. The fact Mac was important to Jack probably made it all that much sweeter to the sadistic asshole. Jack's mission to find the bastard and return the favor would be every bit as calculated and destructive. She didn't know it yet, but Director Weber was going to make up for her albeit unintentional part by offering to do everything in her power to help Jack make sure Mike Briar came a very bad end.

To be continued…


	3. Chapter 3

Paid in Full

By: Ridley

A/N: Two weeks guys! I don't know about you but I thought we'd never get this close way back in April! I hope this last chapter will help make this last little window of time before the new season pass quicker. Thanks for all the extremely kind reviews and all your encouragement. I was so unsure about this scene but I hope it meets your expectations and I promise the Mike Briar story is coming up in the future! Well, if the muse decides to cooperate. Again, thanks to Gib for letting me play with her character and to Poxelda. If you have any missing scenes or tags for season one eps that you're just dying to read, let me know. I might be able to squeeze one more short one in before Season 2!

RCJ

Jack wasn't surprised to find Bozer and Riley hunkered down in the War Room with Matty when he entered. He was shocked by the way they jumped to their feet when Jack entered, looking more than a little surprised at his presence, or maybe taken aback by the fact he wasn't covered in Sang's blood and carrying the agent's dismembered head like some caricature from Braveheart.

"How's Mac?" Bozer was the first to get over the shock and find his voice.

"He pretty much feels like he went ten rounds with those dozen MMA fighters you mentioned, but he'll be okay." Jack fiddled with the straps of the sling he'd managed to half-way put on in the elevator. He'd struggled with the contraption on the ride up from medical, a brief trip made tense when Sang and one of his buddies got on at another floor. Jack hadn't spoken a word to either of them, not entirely trusting himself in his current state of mind if Sang proved to be nowhere near as smart as Matty thought he was and actually said something that struck Jack the wrong way. Instead he'd busied himself with the sling, which was already twisted and digging into Jack's neck. He gave up fixing the damn thing and sighed. "Sally's finishing up with him now. We're going to head to my place in a few. You and Riley should stop by with some Thai food later on, maybe bring a few movies."

"Okay." Bozer seemed to understand that the invitation to Jack's place served a dual purpose, also acting as a request for him and Riley to leave. He picked up his bag, handing Riley her rig as if their computer tech might not have caught the subtle dismissal. "Riley and I will swing by around five and forget take out. I'll actually cook. I've got some short ribs and a new rub that will be great on your state of the art grill that never gets any good use. Does that work?"

"It works." Jack figured that would give him time to go by the store and grab a few things they'd need over the next couple of days and still have time for Mac to get settled before the gang showed up. "I'll see you two then."

Jack noted that Riley sent a glance to Matty, waiting for their director to give a brief nod indicating they were indeed free to go before trailing Bozer. Jack, still standing in the doorway, snagged Riley's arm when she started by him. He met her questioning stare and lowered his voice. "Just so you know, darlin', the only way you're ever going back to prison is over my dead body. Don't let anybody make you think it's even a possibility, you hear me?"

Riley held his gaze for a long moment, seeming to search for any indication that Jack wasn't speaking truth. Jack stayed still like he might when being sized up by a skittish horse, or being eyed by a charging bear. He was heartened when she reached up and carefully straightened the twisted strap of his sling, giving him the rare smile that had always made him feel like he'd earned some prize when he managed to bring it to her face when she was a little girl. She followed it quickly with a more familiar smirk.

"Just remember I'm not your darlin', old man." Not giving Jack a chance to respond, she gently tugged free of his grasp and caught up with Bozer. It wasn't an indepth serious conversation, but Jack realized they were at least back on level footing.

When he closed the door and turned, Matty was the one staring a hole in him, hands propped on her hips, looking as surly as he'd seen her. "Surely you don't think I would threaten any member of our team to get my way? I don't have to blackmail my agents to get them to do their jobs."

"I'd like to think you were above that kind of manipulation but we both know the sort of above board character the CIA promotes." Hell, the very nature of the work they did at Phoenix encouraged deception and at times underhandedness. Bozer's masks weren't the only disguises they utilized in the pursuit of justice. Nikki and Thornton were prime examples of putting the job first, never mind loyalty to the people around you. Jack moved towards one of the chairs, turning to face his boss before taking a seat. "Accomplishing a directive always has priority over maintaining a relationship. Isn't that right? A point which was clearly driven home by our past dealings."

"You are such a girl, Dalton." Matty rolled her eyes, moving to take the seat across from Jack. She settled her hands in her lap, giving Jack her all business look. "If you must know, I care about Riley. I care about all of you. Any decision I make is always with the welfare of the team in mind. That should be a point driven home clearly by the fact I didn't outright dismantle your unit when Thornton was taken into custody. I could have cleaned her house. Sent Bozer packing back to Burger Boy and considered Patricia's deal with Riley null and void. You and Mac could have been reassigned."

"You could have also found yourself short two agents." Jack leaned forward, resting his elbow on his knee. He was working hard to keep himself in check, despite the biting edge that slipped through Matty's attempt at playing level-headed leader. He let the threat roll over him not willing to acknowledge it had been a real fear of his when she first came. He didn't call her the Hun just for dramatic effect. "I wouldn't have stayed here, and I can guarantee you that if I left, Mac wouldn't have let the door swing shut before he was out of the barn as well."

"You seem awfully sure of yourself."

"I'm sure of my partner." Jack held Matty's challenging gaze, unflinching. "That's a bit different."

"Your partner is one of the smartest men, possibly the _smartest_ person, I have ever met in my life," Matty admitted, although Jack sensed a huge 'but' coming. "I was aware of his reputation before I came here, and despite Thornton's place in The Organization, your team accomplished a lot of good before things began to unravel. I considered working with him one of the perks of this job when it was offered to me."

"Even if seeing me once again was a drawback?" Jack had always wondered why Matty had chosen to come to Phoenix obviously knowing his position on one of the primary field teams as well as heading up the tactical units. "Was it always your plan to get rid of me? To find a legitimate reason to displace me so you could build your own team with my people?"

"Get over yourself," Matty huffed, her dark eyes showing a hint of frustration. "I didn't give you half as much thought as you seem to think, Jack. _I_ am actually a grown up and have moved past whatever issues we had previously. My job now is to utilize every resource I have in my command here at Phoenix to its greatest capacity and to eliminate any detractions from potential output. _That's_ what I've been trying to do since I got here. There was never some nefarious end game to get you out of my hair or an agenda to refigure a super team. I could have just fired your ass, you know."

"You really think Mac's not working at the top of his game?" Jack ignored the point that technically Matty could have just given him the shaft, which had been a prominent concern of his when he realized she had taken Thornton's position. It wasn't like Phoenix was unionized, but he was currently more focused on the fact that the woman didn't think his partner was freaking fantastic. For all of Thornton's supposed treachery she considered Mac a national treasure. "Or is it just that you think I'm somehow slowing him down?"

"I don't know." Director Weber didn't bother to deny Jack's accusation. "You tell me."

"I'm sure as hell not a genius, Matty, but I'm smart enough to know where my strengths lie. You've read my file. Hell, you worked alongside me-almost two years in fact. Discounting that I used to think we were friends, I've saved your ass plenty in the field. But if you really doubt my ability to do my job then just tell me. Don't go behind my back and dump it on my partner and the other people I care about." Jack let some of his pent up anger rise to the surface, knowing it reflected in his narrowed gaze. "Don't ever put my people in a position in which they feel like they have no choice but to lie to me."

"Nobody lied to you. You were on medical leave and didn't need to be informed of the current mission." Jack opened his mouth to let loose with exactly what he thought about Matty using her 'need to know' line of bullshit on him when she abruptly held up her hand to cut him off. She rushed on before Jack could speak. "And I don't doubt your work as an agent, Jack. You're one of the best operatives I have ever worked with. I told MacGyver as much. You trained him and it shows. But what I do question is if possibly there might be a better fit for MacGyver now at this point in his career. It could be he's outgrown you. In fact, you could be holding him back."

Jack couldn't deny that the words stung, all the more for the fact he might have wondered the same damn thing himself a time or two. He took a deep breath and let it out before speaking. "All I want for Mac, hell, all I've ever wanted for him, is to let him do what he's good at, what he was made to do, while keeping him from getting himself killed in the process." Jack slid a hand through his hair in frustration. "Honestly, I don't know if someone could challenge him more intellectually or maybe pull more brilliant insights from him. After watching him in his element, working with Frankie, maybe I could see that someone more on his level might bring out the best in him, but I can assure you that there's _no one_ , and I do mean no one, who wants more _for_ him than I do That has to count for something."

"Jack, I get that you endured war together and are bonded in that eternal way that only soldiers share, but…"

"Damn it, Matty. I love that kid. Don't you get that? He's more than my partner, or old war buddy." Jack pushed off the chair with his good arm, standing. Not only pissed at his sanctimonious director for doubting his place watching Mac's back, but angry at himself for indulging the same thoughts even for a minute. "He's my brother in every way that matters, but that's not why I think we're a good fit as partners. There's no one who knows Mac like I do, who gets that he's more than just some genius with untapped potential. And more importantly, there's no one Mac trusts as much as he trusts me." Jack waved his free hand in the air. "Well, me and Bozer, but I had to work a hell of lot harder to say that than Bozer ever had to. He got in on the ground floor before all the bad shit happened to Mac to create defenses as impenetrable as Fort Knox. I've had to be wiley and tenacious."

Jack moved directly in front of Matty, taking a knee so they were eye to eye. "You have no freaking idea what I have done or sacrificed to make him believe that I'm not just going to up and leave, or let him down. I've paid my dues in full where Mac's concerned, and I'd willingly pay them again, ten times over and more, but I will _not_ let you thumb your nose at the years I've invested in that kid all because you're keen on shaking things up to see what shit settles to the bottom and what cream rises to the top."

"Are you done?" Matty's face was as unreadable once more.

"No, damn it, I'm not done," Jack growled. "Mac's brilliant but he's not always smart, at least about putting himself in the line of fire. He puts the mission and everyone around him first. If this latest mission with your boy, Sang, didn't show you that then you need to pull his service record and see some of the shit he did when I wasn't around."

Matty's eyes narrowed and she leaned slightly forward into Jack's space. "So you really expect me to believe you could have stopped him from going through with this latest plan of letting himself get taken hostage to gather more intelligence after he discovered Briar's picture on our contact's phone, Dalton?"

"Hell no." Jack resisted the urge to reach out and shake the infuriating woman. He wished he had that kind of power over Mac sometimes but that wasn't the case. "Nobody can stop Mac from doing something once he gets it in his head that it can work. He's as stubborn as the day is long. But so am I. What I'm saying is that I've got gaps, but he's got gaps, too. Together? We got no gaps."

"Wait a minute." Matty frowned, folding her arms over her chest. "You so stole that line from Rocky."

"So!" Jack growled in frustration, pushing himself to his feet once more. He gave Matty a challenging glare. "The first Rocky is freakin' awesome and the logic still applies to me and Mac."

"Well, you have been punched in the face and taken as many blows to the head as Balboa, but Mac's a lot prettier than Adrian…"

"Matty," Jack sighed, dropping his chin to his chest in defeat. He knew he had his own self to blame when he tried to actually have an earnest conversation with anyone besides maybe Mac or his grandfather, JP, and the other person opted for deflective humor and smartass comebacks instead of taking him at a sincere level. Quips and snark were Jack's native language and a defense mechanism that was hard to get past when he really wanted someone to hear him. "I'm being serious here. This isn't some stupid incident we can have a staring contest to settle. You are _messing_ with my family, Matty. With my _life_. Not only that, you risked Mac's life. He was hurt. I know this is a job to you, but Mac is not just a job to me. I won't stand back and let you treat him like some damn resource you can manipulate and experiment with. Look where that got him. He was damn lucky not to be killed."

"I could tell the mission wasn't going well right from the start. It was like watching Bozer trying to run game on Riley." The admission caught Jack off guard. Matty's soft tone and the swift segue had him mentally reeling, scrambling to recover ground by studying her face. There was a time when he knew her tells, but not so much after Chechnya. The years since he'd left the CIA had changed both of them. For all Jack knew, she could be lulling him in by confessing her misstep only to follow up with a cheap shot when he let his guard down.

"Agent Sang couldn't keep up with MacGyver. Not that he's incompetent," Matty continued, her gaze sharpening, daring Jack to call her judgment into question. "On the contrary. He's one of our best and brightest. I don't tolerate people who aren't useful, but Mac might as well have been solo for all the good he brought to the table on this particular mission. I think Baby Einstein was more distracted by his presence than anything else, like being forced to entertain a lackey intern." She tilted her head, holding Jack's gaze. "I'm sorry Mac got hurt but I won't apologize for exercising my authority to make adjustments in the field as I see fit. I also make no promises that I won't shake things up in the future if I see a need for it."

"I don't want to tell you how to do your job, Matty, and I think you know that I can damn well follow a chain of command, but if there are adjustments to be made to my team, I better know about it the next time whether you deem it need to know intel or not." He rubbed at his eyes, already weary of the conversation he'd played over and over in his head since finding out what had taken place. The reality was there was nothing he could do or say now that could change what had happened to his partner. Rant and rave all he like, he couldn't go back and keep Mac safe. Berating Matty wasn't going to give him what he really wanted. So he gave his director a resigned frown. "And I don't completely blame you or Sang for Mac being hurt. I mostly blame that bastard Mike Briar."

"Talk about relating unnessecary intel." Matty snorted, standing to retrieve the remote to their smart screens. "As soon as Mac told me about his encounter with Briar I knew that as soon as you found out who was involved I would be off the hook and that I might not have to find a replacement for Sang."

"I wouldn't say you were completely off the hook. Also don't be surprised if Sang shows up on my list for mandatory skills training in my next go around of hand to hand re-certifications." Jack didn't want to come off as too predictable, nor did he want Matty thinking she could pull something similar in the future. He laid his good arm over the sling, coming as close as he could to folding his arms across his chest. "But I'm reserving my wrath this go around for that bastard, Briar. I hold him fully accountable for every bruise, bump and cut on the kid, I want his head on a platter. Not only that, I want to remove it myself in the most painful way possible. Like by using a garrote made of rusty barbwire, or maybe a serated tactical blade."

Matty pretended to ignore Jack's rant, bringing up a several images on the computer screen before them. "These are the photos from the phone Mac recovered. We've identified all the men but one." She glanced at Jack. "They are all operatives from varying agencies, even one from MI6. For all we know, Briar might have been in Tepoztlan looking for the same person we were."

"Is that the story the higher-ups at The Farm fed you when you checked with them?" Jack had no doubt Matty's first course of action after hearing Mac's debrief had been to find out if there was any legitimate reason for Briar to be in Mexico.

"My source alluded to the fact that Phoenix wasn't the only agency contacted about this alleged notebook, which could explain the odd meeting of minds we see in these photos." Matty flicked her dark gaze to Jack. "It seems our friend Agent Briar volunteered to investigate the validity of the intel on behalf of the CIA. That won't necessarily cast a shadow of shame on him or any of the other players in these pictures."

"But Mac heard his voice when he was being…" Jack started only to have Matty give a sharp shake of her head.

"Mac heard _a_ voice," she corrected obviously playing Devil's advocate. "He never saw the face belonging to said voice. Mac, who, to my knowledge, has only met Mike Briar one time. Mac, who had also just seen a picture of the man and was already primed for a suggestion even before he underwent the stress of an interrogation. Don't forget the other slant," Matty continued, lifting a brow at Jack. "Angus MacGyver is no other than Jack Dalton's partner, giving him reason to relish the idea of some payback for the crap Briar heaped on his bestie last time around. In fact, it could even look like the both of you were using an advantageous situation to launch a smear campaign to take the recent spotlight off of you, Jack."

"Shit." Jack rubbed a hand over his face, understanding the ramifications of what Matty was proposing and hating like hell that she was right. He glared at the images of Briar on the screen, not believing he hadn't seen the sick brilliance before. Maybe he'd been away from The Farm and all their machinations for far too long. "If I go after Briar for killing the contact, or even better, end him in the process, it could look like retaliation for accusing me of taking all that cash. Hell, it could even make me look guiltier of taking the damn money, or implicate Mac might be in on the heist with me."

"Which is one of the reasons I didn't mention that we had the dead informant's cell phone with Mike's picture in hand when I chatted with my old contact, or that Mac believed he was behind him being questioned on the whereabouts of Patton's Notebook." Matty gave Jack the evil eye. "Don't think I don't know from the look on your face that you're still considering all the ways you could kill the man and not cast any suspicion on yourself or Mac. You never could bluff me at poker."

"What do you expect me to do, Matty? I came in here hoping you would give me the okay to head to Tepoztlan to bring Briar in." Jack had planned to use a body bag for the transport but apparently there was no need to point that out. It had been the one thought to soothe his fury over what had been done to his partner.

"And here I thought you graced me with your presence to rake me over the coals for hurting your feelings and for Mac getting a booboo."

"Don't fucking trivialize what happened to him, Matilda!" Jack snarled, letting the stress of the day and the new complication in his plan for revenge obliterate the shaky grasp he'd maintained on his cool, collected front.

"What exactly _did_ happen to him, Jack?" Matty was nonplussed by the outburst. She merely met Jack's fiery gaze with her steely one. "It's not the first time Baby Einstein has gotten banged up. I get the feeling there's something I'm missing?"

Jack sighed, running a hand over his mouth. "The only thing you seem to be missing is the proper initiative to see this situation rectified in a satisfying manner, which is about to put you right back on the proverbial hook."

"I want to bring Briar down as much as you."

Jack shook his head. "That's extremely unlikely."

"Our fervor may be slightly differing, but I don't like to see my people hurt nor will I tolerate my operations being messed with. Briar is yanking on the wrong chain if he thinks I won't climb his frame because he's CIA." Matty's face had taken on a hint of color, her cheeks reddening. " Don't even get me started on how I feel about traitors."

"Then what do you propose we do about it?" Jack demanded. He might understand Matty's reasoning and he sure as hell didn't want to stir a proverbial hornet's nest but he wasn't willing to let Mike walk. Not this time. Not when it was Mac who had been hurt this go around.

"I suggest we continue the original mission as soon as any new leads arise." Matty nodded to the screen. "I'm putting feelers out on all the players. When given the opportunity we go after the notebook no holds bar."

"And until then? What?" Jack didn't do well with delayed gratification, nor did he cotton to the old motto revenge was a dish best served cold. He didn't like to let things fester, especially things like a much deserved beat down.

"We bide our time. If Mac is right and Briar wants it as badly as it seems…"

"Then he might get careless and lead us to where it is," Jack supplied. It was hopeful at best considering Briar was a lot of things but while he had no problem leaving other's hanging in the wind, he always covered his own ass more than adequately.

"If nothing else we let him do or one of his dinner constituents do ground work for us. Then when we do get our hands on it, the journal could be the key piece of evidence we need to bring Briar in and quite possibly bring a whole lot of other bad guys to justice in the process."

"I could get on board with that." Jack wouldn't promise Briar would still be breathing when he brought him in, but he would secure Patton's dear old diary and prove what a sonofbitch Mike was once and for all before he made him pay for what he'd done to Mac. He flashed Matty a questioning glance. "That is if you were planning on including me this time around."

"If I'd known you were going to be such a cry baby about it I wouldn't have dreamed of keeping you out of the loop in the first place." Matty exited out of the file with the photos and tossed the remote on the table between them. "Seriously, you're like a five year old who had his candy snatched away by the school yard bully."

Jack smirked, thinking Matty would have made an excellent 'mean girl'. "I've been called worse by women a lot scarier than you, sweetheart."

"I'm not your sweetheart, and don't bring your dating life into this, Dalton." Matty furrowed her brow. "After Chechnya, it's best for all involved that everything stays strictly professional between us."

"Does that mean you're not going to drop by my place to try some of Bozer's short ribs?" Jack glanced at his watch, surprised Mac hadn't escaped Sally and come to make sure his partner hadn't been escorted out of the building by Oversight. When he refocused on Matty he noticed that for the first time since they'd begun their discussion, the director looked slightly caught off guard.

"I didn't realize I was invited."She casually ran a hand over the sleeve of her leather jacket, feigning only the tiniest of interest in the prospect.

" _Invited_ is a strong word. How about expected?" Jack pointed a finger at her, still not willing to play as if things were completely right between them. "As in I expect you to bring a shitload of beer to make up for screwing me over."

A more typical scowl was back in place. "If I bring drinks it will be because my mother taught me never to show up to any function empty-handed, not because I'm admitting to having stepped on your toes."

"Whatever." Jack had extended the olive branch despite still being pretty pissed, but he wasn't going to beg. "Beer or not, Mac and Riley will want you there because of the whole us still being family thing. It's important to them."

"So you're willing to play nice for the good of the children?" Matty's mouth twitched, obviously amused now. "I can honestly say that's a line I never in my wildest dreams imagined coming out of your mouth."

"There's nothing I wouldn't do for my kids." Jack wasn't completely joking, a fact he wanted Matty to understand. "I love you, Matty-well as much as a guy _can_ love a ball busting, prickly cactus of woman like yourself- but it would serve you well to remember that."

"I'll keep it in mind." Matty waited until Jack had reached the door before she added, "And just maybe I'll bring a bottle of your favorite whiskey along with the beer if it will help smooth your feathers over this misunderstanding."

Jack stopped, turning to meet her gaze with a brief smile. "As long as you don't smash it over my head like the last time we shared some."

Matty returned the grin. "Remember, I make no promises."

"So you've said." Jack shook his head, not bothering to close the door behind him when he left. It was nowhere near the gratifying ending he'd expected, nor was he on his way to Mexico, but despite the lack of a formal reassurance on Matty's part, Jack at least felt confident that he wouldn't have to worry about Director Webber splitting him and Mac up anytime soon. Finding his partner waiting for him just outside the door, go bag in hand, chased away any lingering doubts. Go or stay, they were in for the long haul together.

Epilogue

Jack sat a bottle of water, a bowl of pretzels, some frozen peas and a cold can of Coke on his coffee table, taking a seat on the edge of the couch where Mac was sprawled. His partner had kicked off his boots, stretching out on the leather sofa where Jack had ordered him to stay while he put the groceries away. Mac had already dozed off in the short time it had taken for Jack to finish the chore despite his vehement protests to not being tired, proving his insistence that he was fine to walk around the grocery store with Jack hadn't been the smartest plan.

Jack had learned years ago to pick his battles with the kid. If he exerted energy on the little things like Mac's pigheadedness when it came to him deciding his threshold for activity after being injured, Jack would have been worn down by the time they got around to the big stuff, like convincing Mac the meds he'd been sent home with were actually non-negotiable, and not merely Sally's attempts at messing with him or trying to get one up in the little game of 'who is really in control' they had going on. So he'd not pushed it when Mac tagged along the market, figuring him garnering more attention from the shoppers than usual was fitting consequences since Jack's best friend wasn't big on being in the spotlight in the first place. Now Jack wished he'd pushed a little harder for Mac to stay in the damn car.

His partner looked pale. The bruises on his face mocked Jack in their vividness, causing him to reconsider his decision to go along with Matty's wait and see plan. The skin around one of Mac's eyes had already deepened to a dark purple and lines of pain furrowed his brow beneath the frock of blond bangs. Mac had pulled Jack's Dallas Cowboy's Snuggie from the back of the couch using it as blanket and Einstein was currently planted squarely on the kid's chest, gold eyes at half mast, purring like a well-tuned motor as his front paws twitched, contentedly kneading his favorite human's shoulder. When Jack rested a hand on Mac's forehead, he felt warm and Sally's caution about infections replayed through his thoughts, taunting him with images of hospital rooms and breathing aparati. Jack's touch did what Einstein's display of affection had not and Mac jerked awake, his eyes snapping open with a gasp.

"Hey." Jack kept his hand where it was until Mac focused on him. Only when the kid's blue gaze filled with recognition and then relief, followed quickly by an annoyed frown did Jack slide his hand over his partner's hair and give him a smirk. "I thought you weren't tired, brother."

"I'm not," Mac's words were belied by a yawn and a stretch that had him wincing and Einstein shifting his considerable girth to lithely leap to the back of the couch, perching by Mac's head with what could only be described as a huff of irritability and a perfect display of his species' fickleness. Mac pushed himself up, glancing to the feline and then back to Jack, his mouth twitching. "Just grabbed a quick cat nap."

"Ha ha," Jack snorted. He pointed to the bag from the pharmacy that was still sitting where he'd placed it on the end table closest to Mac. "How about grabbing your antibiotics, funny guy. All we need is for you to get pneumonia. It looks like you might have a bit of a fever already."

" _Or_ I had a fleece blanket and a half ton cat laying on top of me, worst case scenario." Mac sat up straighter, the snuggie piling around his waist. "What are you feeding him anyway?"

"The damn top dollar, low calorie, cat food the vet recommends and undoubtedly price gouges." Jack reached and got the bottle of water, twisting off the cap before handing it to Mac. "Of course I'm pretty sure he supplements it with a shitload of field mice, not to mention cans of tuna and bowls of milk that he begs from Henrietta and the other old gals who take it upon themselves to watch out for the poor thing while his neglectful owner travels way too much for business. You don't know how many times I've had to go over there and rescue him from her affections."

Mac took a drink of the water, grinning at Jack. "I'm pretty sure Henrietta would like to inflict her affections on Einstein's owner."

"I wouldn't be so smug, bud." Jack reached and got the bag from the pharmacy, tossing the antibiotics to Mac. He'd bring up the pain medicine later. "She asks about my 'little brother' every time I have to go over there and collect the beast. Last week she told me she would pay you to cut back her rose bushes."

"I hope you told her I wasn't in to manual labor, at least not the kind where I end up feeling very dirty afterwards, the kind of dirty that a hot shower doesn't help and only goes away with therapy." Mac glowered at the pill bottle, but finally opened it with a resigned sigh. He took out what looked like a horse pill and tossed it in his mouth with a grimace.

"Actually I told her you were mighty handy with the clippers and that you'd love to help her when school was out for the summer." Jack took the water from Mac after his partner finished half of it to chase down the pill. He grinned at the kid's scowl, made almost pitiful by the swollen eye. It wasn't Jack's fault that Henrietta had somehow gotten the impression that Mac was still in high school when he'd help Jack move in five years before and now thought he was studying hard in college. Besides, letting his neighbors think he had a somewhat normal family was good cover. At least she hadn't mistaken Mac as Jack's son. It wasn't that Jack wouldn't have been proud as hell to have claimed that honor, but rather he found his ego a bit bruised whenever women a few generations younger than Henrietta and her crew had made that same mistake. He bobbed his eyebrows at Mac. "I imagine you'd get a whole lot of business from the other nice ladies in the neighborhood if you played your cards right, bud."

"Like I have time to run a lawn service," Mac harrumphed, frowning again. He reached up to touch the bandage on his head when the motion must have pulled at his stitches. "Unless this is your roundabout way of telling me we're currently unemployed because we've left Phoenix or Matty has fired us."

They had carefully avoided conversation about what Jack had discussed with their boss. Mac had seemed content with being released from medical and out from beneath Sally's watchful eye, not even questioning Jack about the details once they were on the move. Instead he'd probed the older man for all the news from the ranch. Asking about Treaty, JP, and the pups, laughing over Beth's latest passion-hip hop Zumba. They wagered how long it would take the woman to paint her hot Latin instructor.

"Forget the landscaping, brother. If we leave Phoenix, then we're totally opening a private security firm, remember?" Jack shrugged. "At least until JP's ready to hand over the reins of the ranch to us."

"Right," Mac snorted. "In Hawaii, like your hero Magnum P.I."

"Exactly. In Oahu." Jack also relished pissing off his old pal Steve McGarrett by staying underfoot of Five-O'. "Riley's going to be our modern day Girl Friday. Bozer…well, Bozer will be Bozer." Jack offered Mac the bowl of pretzels and the Coke. "You should probably have something on your stomach and dinner won't be ready for a while."

"So does that mean I need to clear out my lab and start working on my tan?" Mac accepted the pretzels and drink with a roll of his eyes. Jack knew his best friend thought Jack was clearly hovering, maybe even encroaching into mothering territory, which the kid hated. But like Jack, Mac seemed to know when to pick his battles.

"You'd be willing to give up your cushy job just like that?" There was also the possibility that Mac understood Jack's intentions for what they were, a way to regain ground, to somehow make up for not being able to protect him this time around. It was illogical. Hell, it was probably a bit pathological considering Jack had not been on the mission to even attempt to keep Mac safe, and fluffing freaking pillows and making sure the kid followed doctor's orders wasn't going to change a damn thing, but apparently Mac was going to let it slide and go along with his crazy partner. For now.

"What cushy job?" Mac balanced the bowl of pretzels on his lap so he could open the soda. "Only you would call getting shot at, stabbed and blown up on a daily basis a cushy job."

Jack chuckled at having his words from their earlier conversation in medical twisted and thrown back at him. He studied his best friend's face, trying really hard to look past the bruises and cuts, and ignore the massive guilt they invoked. "You'd really leave The Foundation?"

Mac took a drink of the Coke, gave a little shrug. "We came to DXS as a package deal. I always figured we'd leave Phoenix the same way."

Jack leaned forward on one elbow, having kept the infuriating sling on so Mac couldn't call pot and kettle. "See I kind of thought I'd leave Phoenix in a body bag, and that you'd go on back to MIT to win a Nobel Peace Prize for some world-changing invention which you'd dedicate to your awesome, brave, courageous and handsome best friend in your acceptance speech."

"I don't know," Mac pretended to seriously consider what Jack was proposing. "Bozer has been an inspiration but…"

"I meant me, smartass." Jack slapped his partner's knee, giving a shake of his head. "Bozer hasn't been your partner all these years. Guarding your posterior for posterity's sake."

"No, that's been all you." Mac picked up a pretzel, breaking it into several pieces but not showing much interest in eating it. He glanced at Jack. "I owe you more than I could ever repay so no matter how you leave Phoenix, and I prefer it not be in any kind of bag or box, when your time there is done, so is mine."

"You don't me owe me anything, brother." Jack suddenly found the floor very interesting, making sure his emotions were back in line before he looked at the younger man again. "I do what I do because I want to. I like my life and as long as I get to watch your back, well, I don't plan on getting that Private Eye's liscense and buying a bunch of flowered shirts anytime soon."

"So, you didn't tell off Matty?" Mac hedged.

"Let's just say I hope I helped her understand the error of her ways." Jack wished he could offer guarantees but as Matty pointed out, she could always find another reason to shake things up.

"You think she'll leave our team intact?"The kid asked, tossing a couple of the pretzels in his mouth.

"Matty's not big on making any promises but she is all about performance. She wants to get the most bang for her buck if you know what I mean. You don't climb the leadership latter at The Farm and not have an edge and a hell of an agenda, but when push comes to shove, I believe she values her people over output." Jack ran a hand over his mouth. Matty could be cutthroat but he was banking on her also being a good person. "I also thinks she knows the asset she has in you and isn't willing to risk your life again to test a theory or prove a point."

Mac took another drink of Coke. "I'm not the only valuable member of our team."

"No, Riley is a helluva hacker, just like I said she'd be and Bozer, despite himself, is becoming a wizard at disguises and props. He's going to make a real place for himself…"

"I'm talking about you, Jack," Mac interrupted.

"Special Forces turns out men like me all the time, brother." Jack knew his days as enforcer were numbered. Time was a bitch on the body and if he didn't buy it in the field in the next decade or so, he'd probably be taken out by wear and tear. The amount of concussions he'd had alone were enough to have him banking on an early retirement. "I'm like a decent pro-quarterback-one injury away from the next young buck willing to step up and fill my combat boots."

"No one can fill your spot on our team, or take your place as my partner." Mac's frown deepened. "I told Matty that, and made it clear with Agent Sang. I also didn't know Riley ghosted my phone. I would have never…"

"I'm not excusing her, but Riley did what she thought she had to do. How many times have I used a bit of subterfuge in the name of what I thought was right?"

"I'm not mad at her," Mac shook his head. "I just want you to know, I told Matty from the beginning I wasn't going to lie to you and that if you called I was going to tell you the truth."

"So she made sure I didn't call." Jack scratched at his head, feeling his blood pressure rising once more. "How about we just agree that there were bad choices made all around and promise the next time something like this comes up we make sure and talk to make sure at least we are clear on what's going on."

"That sounds good." Mac shifted the drink to one hand, bring the other over his mid-section with a grimace. "What's done is done."

"Your ribs bothering you?" Jack rethought pushing the pain meds Doc Carl had prescribed or at least some Tylenol when Mac actually gave a nod instead of insisting he was fine. Jack hated seeing the kid hurting, especially when there was actually something he could do to prevent it. "How's your head?"

"Let's just say it's not great." Mac looked up at him, a smile obviously forced for Jack's benefit. "That's what I get for getting caught in the backwash of my own bomb."

Jack worked hard to school his features, not wanting to do anything to make Mac regret the rare admission of being in pain. "Sally mentioned that. Must have been a hell of an explosion to bring down a whole building as Bozer put it _and_ add a dent to that steel-enforced skull of yours."

"Bozer exaggerates." Mac used his free hand to rub at his eyes. "It was more of a shack and risking getting blown up was still better than the ending I think my captors had in mind."

"Speaking of ways I'm going to make Briar suffer for thinking he could get away with touching you," Jack's abrupt and not so smooth segue brought Mac's pinched gaze to him once more. "I told Matty I wanted all available resources put on finding out everything she could on Patton's Notebook, and that once Mike Briar was located I wanted to be the one to bring him in."

"As long as I get to come with you."

"Well, you see, I was thinking I might take Agent Sang..."

"Ha ha." Mac lifted his middle finger to show Jack just what he thought of his sense of humor. "Now who's the funny guy?"

"You're severely lacking on the menacing look, brother." Jack reached over grabbing the bag of frozen peas from the table. "Here, maybe this, along with a few of Sally's magic pills, will help."

"Tell me this isn't my dinner." Mac took the package, studying it with trepidation.

"It's for your face, genius." Jack took his partner's hand with the peas and guided it towards his swollen black eye. "Maybe that concussion scrambled something in that head of yours. Bozer's making dinner, remember?"

"Right." Mac pressed the peas to the left side of his face, looking sheepishly at Jack as he eased back against the pillows. "Maybe I will take a few pain pills before he gets here."

"Are you okay with company?" Jack frowned at his partner's easy acceptance of pharmaceutical relief, although he often wished he had some narcotics when Bozer was in rare form.

"Riley and Bozer aren't company." Mac gave a slight frown. "They're family."

"True, but sometimes a guy isn't always in a place to entertain." Jack tapped his own head. "Did I mention Matty might come?"

"It was big of you to invite her, especially when she didn't sanction your mission to get Briar."

"I didn't want to spring for the beer." Jack brushed off the praise, seeing it for the redirect it was and also not willing to accept credit for something which had nothing to do with his maturity or good nature. "But seriously, bud, if you want to keep it low key then I can always throw together something…"

"I'm good, Jack, really." Mac glanced up at Jack, gave a real grin. "I mean as long as we don't have to share Nana Beth's loot with them."

"The cherry pie and peach cobbler are tucked safely away for us to enjoy." Jack stood, pulling the Cowboy's throw over Mac once more. "We'll be having 'their' pineapple upside down cake and Snickerdoodle cookies for dessert."

"That's pretty cold," Mac jiggled the bag of peas.

Jack rolled his eyes at the pun. "Yeah, well, neither of them called me about your little mission, and Riley did dupe us with the phone, so I'm not going to feel even one bit bad for holding out on them. Are you going to rat me out?"

"I'm your partner," Mac kept his steady gaze on the older man "What do you think?"

"I think it's us against the world, brother." Jack grinned, holding his fist out to his best friend.

Mac returned the smile, bumping his hand against Jack's. "Just as it should be."

Jack could not have agreed more.

The End...for now.


End file.
